27. Chapter 27
Chapter 27
“I don’t like any of this,” Berlin growled, but the lights in the house went dark around him. “Just get out of the damn house.”
“I can’t do that. I’ve gotta slow them down.”
“You need backup.”
“ You are my backup,” he snapped. “I’m on the second floor now, west side of the house. I can see…two SUVs parking. Eight tangos spilling out.” He had to stay far away from the kitchen as he drew these monsters into this house.
They’d been trafficking women or at least worked with the people who were behind this. Considered these women “product” and he was pretty sure Brody Williams had known it. He had to have, and Chance was going to make sure he paid for that too. But that would be later.
“Can you see anything on the cameras?” he asked as he slid behind one of the open doorways of a bedroom. If these guys were like his former unit, or even remotely trained, they’d sweep rooms separately, then check in with each other.
“Yeah. Two of the men are moving toward the lake and they’re out of my range.” She let out a curse. “Okay, it’s fine, we’ll deal with that. Two are moving in toward the back, one is going in through the garage, another is using the same window you did and two…okay, they’re at the front door. Weapons are out… They’re shooting their way in.”
A gas explosion rumbled the entire house, the ground shaking beneath him.
“Oh my god, the two men on the back porch just flew backward. They’re… One is dead and the other won’t make it. Everyone else has breached the house. I don’t have eyes on them anymore, but the kitchen is on fire. I can see it through one of the outside cameras.”
That sounded about right. “You can see where I am, right? With my tracker?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, set off any smart devices in the house, starting with the far east side. I want these guys spooked and off-kilter.” He kept his voice pitched low as he heard faint movement down at the end of the hallway. “Start in thirty seconds. I’ve gotta go dark now.” Not technically dark, but he wouldn’t be able to talk after this.
“Okay. I’ve got you.” She sounded like she was moving, but he couldn’t tell and he had to trust she had this handled. The woman had hacked a satellite and tracked down his brother. She was incredible and he was thankful she was on his side.
Through the crack in the door, he saw an armed man in jungle-type fatigues, wearing a dark green helmet over a balaclava, step into a bathroom then come back out a couple moments later. Then he dipped into another room, was in there for a few long moments before he moved back out.
He continued in Chance’s direction until he paused, slightly tilted his head as if listening to someone else. That was when Chance heard the whir of something metal in the distance, then water start to run.
“Halfway through clearing upstairs,” the man said quietly in perfect English. Then, “Okay.” He turned, starting to head back the way he’d come, so Chance moved out into the hallway, whisper quiet.
The government had spent a lot of money training him, and as he slipped up behind the masked man he moved fast, grabbed the top of the helmet, yanked back to control the guy. Then he hit the man’s carotid with his kukri, fast and hard, slicing deep.
The man jerked under the assault, his hands going up for an instant, but just as quickly his weapon thudded to the floor as blood arced out against the wall and nearby door.
Music blasted in the distance and he thought he heard the faint sound of gunfire, but couldn’t be sure over the noise and rain still thundering against the roof. Even though it wouldn’t hide him for long, he dragged the body into the nearby bathroom. Then, using the guy’s own blood, he took the tango’s limp hand, smeared it in the blood, then pressed perfect fingerprints into the side of the cabinet.
They might not need it but in case shit went sideways and these guys overran him, then cleaned up the bodies, he hoped Berlin and her people could use the prints to track them down later.
“One down,” he whispered. Well, technically three. When Berlin didn’t respond, his adrenaline spiked. “B?”
Nothing.
Now, fear, more than adrenaline, surged through him, but he forced it down as he pulled out the dead tango’s earpiece, put it in his free ear.
Nothing from that end either, but if they communicated, he’d hear it.
“Charlie, check in.” The new earpiece crackled to life as Chance hurried down the hallway, making his way to the stairs.
When no one responded, he figured Charlie was the guy he’d just killed.
“Charlie, check in now.” A pause, then. “Everyone convene at meeting point three. I found a surprise in the woods.”
No. No, no, no. The only thing that could be a surprise was… Berlin. If they’d hurt her… He couldn’t even go there.
As he reached the bottom of the stairs, the sink was running, lights from the living room were blinking on and off and Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro was blasting from unseen speakers. The sprinklers had come on, dousing most of the fire so that it hadn’t spread, but now everything was soaked.
It was like a nightmare funhouse, with lightning flashing outside. Instead of heading straight out the back door, he made his way down the hallway to the foyer in the front—and dodged what would have been a deadly shot.
Plaster exploded behind him as a man jumped out at him from the living room, geared up the same as the dead guy upstairs. Fatigues, balaclava and a helmet, which seemed like overkill for bagging a bunch of helpless women and Enzo. This level of force didn’t make sense, but he mentally shelved it as he struck out at the man, slamming the base of his palm in the guy’s shoulder as he yanked his elbow, broke his weapon-toting arm.
The man let out a short scream before Chance shoved his blade up through his head, kicked him back.
One more down. Now he had to find Berlin.